#47 inspired by large photos

I don't use large photos often enough which is sad as I really like the effect of them. But I tend to be lazy and I have a pile of 4x6s that I have sitting around and I tend to go there first. So Pam's prompt this week was a refreshing change for me that had me sitting here considering which photo would be special enough.

And while I was looking for inspiration for this week's challenge, my eyes were drawn to my magnet board next to my desk and there was a large photo that I love and which I had recently taken out of a frame. It was fate! And the story with it is just another little story that might not have been told. And really, there's not much story - more of a "you had to be there" type of thing. But it's another piece of our Nova Scotia adventure and one that makes me happy.

The main thing is that I remember that moment when I look at this photo, so now it's on a page, that's perfect!

I used my Counterfeit kit, Beach-house which seemed only appropriate and I've just noticed that I forgot to put the date and place on that little tag to the left. I'll do that right after I finish this :-)

Excuse the not so good photo - I was in a bit of a hurry to get this done and up!

A simple story told with a large photo that takes centre stage on this pretty beachy colour paper. It didn't need much added for decoration and the journalling was short and to the point.

This week was a great reminder to get out those larger photos and make them shine. And for me, that often means a simpler, quicker page than usual and that's a double win!

Don't forget to show us how you handle your oversize shots and share with us over in the Flickr gallery - use the tag WM#47 so that we can find it :-)

#47 Inspired by large photos

well, like I said, I have no problems using large photos. I think is a useful story telling tool and I turn to it from time to time.

However, I love enlargements so much that they hardly sit in my "to scrap" pile for long. I knew making this challenge that I would have to print a new picture for this. 

I like my pictures to be really large and good quality. So I usually don't print at home. Even if I can overlook the quality issue, the largest my printer can handle is 8x10. The new challenge for Simple Scrapper called for a freestyle grid and I used that Template/Sketch provided by Simple Scrapper (which will be posted the first week in August).

 That gave me the idea that I could use this tutorial by Elise Blaha from {enJOY it} to print my own 9x9 photo.

titi pam loves u 2 pieces

I thought the title fit the page quite nicely, because the picture was all cut up. You can still appreciate the main parts of the photo despite the cuts. Granted, this technique  works best with divided page protectors... but for the perfectionists out there, you can really line up the photos better and still get a seamless look. I just preferred the puzzle look.

I took an uninteresting corner of the photo off and replaced it with a smaller photo which I printed and cut with my large round punch. this draws the eye around the page.

I balanced it all with the title placement on the bottom left corner which creates diagonal interest - a little design tip I picked up from Shimelle's video.

i also added the journaling right on top of another uninteresting corner of the photo. 

i am so glad this story is in my books and i know that little smile will make me grin every time i flip through those pages.

Thanks for joining us for another week of Whimsical Musings. We are getting so close to our anniversary! If you joined in, we would love to see your work on our gallery with the tag (WM#47).

xo,

Pamage

Challenge # 47 - Week of July 9th, 2012

This is Pam here again with another (hopefully) fun challenge for you this week.

First, I have a few pages from my archives to show you. What do these pages have in common?

Well, besides the round elements, I hope the most obvious element were the Oversized Photos. Often large pictures scare us into a corner since it is such a large element to incorporate that the task may seem daunting. However, it is not much different than having a large block of photos. In fact, that is a tip I often use when creating my pages with oversized photos based on a sketch. I look for blocks of photos I can combine into one image.

Yes, you guessed it, the challenge for this week is to use an oversized picture. I consider anything larger than 4x6 "oversized" - You will notice I work with a variety of sizes and some of them irregular. So, go ahead, pull out your 5x7, 6x8, 8x10 or any other combination thereof and get to playing. This is the perfect excuse to finally use up all those professional shots we always order enlargements of and then have in a folder collecting dust. Or go ahead and print up a picture you just adore specifically for this challenge.

And why don't you add a few more pictures in the process? I don't limit my oversized photo use to single photos layouts. The page above used 7 photos without looking too crowded. You are welcome to use as many photos as you like, just make one of them larger. It is a strong storytelling tool and I think you'll enjoy it. If you need extra help along the way, here is a recent Glitter Girl adventure which tackled this topic {here}. And of course, we are always on the message boards to discuss and chat with you and how you are taking on the challenge. 

Remember to share with us on the gallery which is linked above with the tag WM#47. Until next week.

xo,

Pamage